A threshold assembly is that portion of an entryway system that underlies the door and, in many instances, one or more sidelights or side panels that flank the door. Threshold assemblies have evolved significantly over the past few decades from wooden thresholds, to thresholds formed of simple static aluminum extrusions, to complex modern threshold assemblies, which usually incorporate extruded aluminum portions with adjustable threshold caps and sophisticated water shedding and sealing mechanisms. In the case of entryways with sidelights, modern threshold assemblies are designed to be continuous; that is, to extend continuously without breaks beneath the door, sidelights, and mull posts that separate them. Such continuous sidelight sills reduce significantly the leakage problems common in older "box" construction sidelight entryways, wherein separate threshold sections underlie the door and sidelights. The same is true of patio door entryways, wherein a pair of doors are mounted in an entryway with one door being fixed and the other being hinged for opening and closing. Thus, whenever the terms sidelight entryway, sidelight sill, sidelight cap, and terms of similar import are used herein, it will be understood that the discussion also is equally applicable to patio door entryways and, in fact, to any door unit having a fixed panel and a hinged door.
While modern threshold assemblies function substantially better than their older counterparts, they nevertheless have not generally been designed with the handicapped or otherwise wheelchair bound person in mind. For example, their height and profile oftentimes present difficult or impossible barriers to a handicapped person wishing to enter a building in a wheelchair. In many instances, the thresholds can only be traversed with the help of another, which is inconvenient and can even be embarrassing or degrading to the handicapped individual.
While threshold assemblies adapted to be traversed by a wheelchair have been developed, and standards to handicap thresholds are set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) the evolution of handicap thresholds has generally not kept pace with that of standard threshold assemblies. For example, many handicap threshold assemblies fail to incorporate the water sealing technologies of standard assemblies and are thus susceptible to leaks between the threshold and a closed door, particularly during driving or wind blown rains. Further, currently available handicap thresholds are not designed to accommodate entryways with sidelight panels, which nevertheless are popular and common architectural features. In cases where a handicapped accessible entryway includes sidelights, door manufacturers have been left with the old box method of accommodating the sidelights, which, as mentioned above, leads to leaks and also to increased manufacturing complexity.
Thus, a need exists for a handicap threshold assembly that incorporates the leak resistance of modern standard threshold assemblies, that easily accommodates entryways with sidelight panels, and that also meets ADA standards for easy traversal by an individual in a wheelchair. It is to the provision of such a threshold assembly that the present invention is primarily directed.